lørdag 20. juli 2013

Vi pauldrons and leg armor - how to make

To make your Vi complete you need bid ass pauldrons and some leg armor. Take a look here to how to build te rest of the costume.For this part I sadly left my documenting skills far away, meaning I forgot to take progress photos. But I managed to scavenge some. For my Pauldrons I used first a shell of paper mache (strips of news paper and water with flour works) over a balloon. And then you cover this shell with expanding foam. Kamui have some great videos about this technique.

And carve away

Comparison

The expanding foam is full of air pockets and to make it easier to make a smooth surface I'll cover it again with paper mache. And we are in luck, Kamui even has a video about this step too, how to cover with paper mache (since I forgot to take pictures)And I like to cover my layer of paper mache with filler again to make a really smooth surface. And now sanding.

To make it easier for myself I covered the "side parts" of the pauldrons with cardboard instead of paper mache. And here stops my documentation of this project. All the gold parts are sheets of cardboard. The round piece is thin foam mat (craft foam would work very well). Same goes for the piece sticking out on the end there. The gold on these parts are also cardboard.

As for the paint I have used the same grey as on the chest piece with a thin mist layer of silver on top. Battle damage is made with black and silver markers. And everything is sealed with transparent paint.

A small tip to make sure the collar of the jacket stays up, attach it to the pauldrons using velcro.

And this is how gorgeous it looks inside.

The knee armorThe base again is paper mache over a balloon. The bolts are paper clay and a strip of neoprene around the edge.

Painted purple...

and weathered.

The leg armorThe legs are bent cardboard reinforced with plaster strips on the back. I made these before I discovered worbla and I would recommend that instead of card board as these will most probable crack after a couple of uses.

So this was a very short description on how I made the pauldrons and leg armor. I still need to add some battle damage and a clear coat to the leg bracers, but in short this is one way to do it. Ask if I shall deepen on the steps. Here are links to the rest of my Vi tutorials

Hi, those were made out of cardboard covered with faux leather. The edges are foam mat, around the thighs I used two belts (for each one). I used furniture nail as decor. They are attached to the corset using (clip) buckles. Sorry, I don't think I have any photos of them right now.

Hi. yes, there is more in addition to the bands around my arms. They are also attached to each other over my back (I cut a hole in the jacket so they are not visible). And on the front there is a band attached directly to the jacket from each pauldron.

Hope this helps, I will try to get a photo. But also check out how Kamui attached hers. (http://www.kamuicosplay.com/tutorials)

how did you paint the knee armor? is it just spraypainted with a metallic purple? because on the picture it looks like you made a pureple/black ombre :) in case it IS an ombre: how did you make the transition between purple and black?

The knee is spray painted with metallic purple and then weathered. The weathering includes adding dark (black) watered out paint to the edges and fading it in (like an ombre) This can be done with a sponge or by brush (and then wiping som off)

All about me:

Hello, I’m Christina also known as Chrix Design. I’m a software tester by day, costume maker by night. Most of my life I have been a little "know it all" and very creative. This evolved into me being a science nerd as a child as well as I sewed my own Barbie clothes. In the end I got a Master’s degree in Industrial design engineering. My childhood was also full of video games and my first prop came together mainly because I wanted a Portal Gun over my fireplace. I exploited every occasion to dress up and loved making more and more original costumes. It wasn't until 2011 I heard about cosplay, where had it been all my life! I got so many friends with the same passions for games, costumes, craft and books as me. After this I had no more spare time, there was always a costume to build a tutorial to write and new friends to meet. But I won’t say no to a round of Halo, an evening of board games or watching old Disney movies.
You can contact me at chrix.design.props@gmail.com or via my facebook page.